Nicknames that make great baby names for boys

Monica Beyer is a mom of four and has been writing professionally since 2000, when her first book, Baby Talk, was published. Her main area of interest is attachment parenting and all that goes with it, including breastfeeding, co-sleepin...

Give your baby boy a nickname ... as his given name

There are so many amazing boy names that have great built-in nicknames. So why not skip going the longer, more formal name route and give your little boy a nickname instead?

We all know someone who is known as Rob, Joe or Alex. Chances are, those aren't their given names — their birth certificates likely spell out Robert, Joseph and Alexander. We still think their nicknames are totally good enough to bestow upon a child as a first name, and there are plenty more where those came from. Some nicknames don't make good first names (like Spuds or Boss), but others, like the ones we chose here, make fantastic ones.

This is also another way to incorporate a family name without using the exact same moniker. For example, if you wanted to name your son after your beloved grandfather, but you weren't sure if you were up for naming your baby Tobias or Arthur, then you might select Toby or Art instead.

Go ahead and check out these super cute baby names that just so happen to be nicknames, and put them on the top of your baby name list.